1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of an operation pedal, such as an accelerator pedal, that is operated by a foot of an operator upon driving a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a structure of the vehicle operation pedal of this type, there has been known the one that is provided to extend downward from a wall face located at the front surface of a vehicle compartment, and that is supported at its upper end so as to be swingable in the longitudinal direction (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-1827).
In a vehicle provided with the structure of the vehicle operation pedal, an injury level of a lower leg of a driver is reduced upon a full-lap collision or offset collision in which an impact is applied to the vehicle from front, so that safety of the vehicle is enhanced. In the vehicle, a spacer member is provided between a pedal pad and a floor in a state in which the operation pedal is depressed to the full. With this structure, when an impact is applied to the vehicle from front, the spacer member prevents the foot of the driver from moving in the widthwise direction from the state of depressing the operation pedal.
However, in the vehicle, there may be the case in which the floor might be deformed when an impact is applied to the vehicle from front. When the floor is deformed, the positional relationship between the operation pedal and the spacer member is changed, so that the movement of the driver's foot in the widthwise direction cannot reliably be inhibited.
In the vehicle, the driver's foot moves upward along the rear surface of the operation pedal, when the impact is applied to the vehicle from front. In this case, the driver's foot collides against a pedal support member supporting the operation pedal, which increases the injury level of the lower leg. When a behavior such as the movement of the vehicle in the widthwise direction is caused immediately after the collision, like in the case of the offset collision, the driver's foot is caught by the operation pedal or the pedal support member, and then, force in the twisting direction is applied to the driver's foot. Therefore, the injury level of the lower leg may be increased.